KPaul Medical PTSD

We would like to take a moment to thank all of the men and women who have served to protect us as well as all of the families who did the equally difficult task of maintaining the home front so that the rest of us could benefit from the incredible service their soldiers provide.

One of the hardest things about dealing with PTSD is not only feeling as though there is nobody you can talk to who will understand what you are going through, but also finding someone else who is willing to speak to you face-to-face about their own experiences and how they have overcome some of the most difficult situations imaginable. The National Center for PTSD has found a way around this dilemma.

Poetry today has been has pushed into the corners of the world of academia, and with good reason. Gone are the Walt Whitmans and Robert Frosts that made poetry accessible to the masses and detailed subjects that inspire, haunt, and connect us all. In his debut collection, Brian Turner seems to be taking the reins from his predecessors and putting poetry back in the public eye. Here, Bullet isn’t anything that you would expect.

by Andrew Helton Do landmines worry? Is there a point at which they realize thick rubber soles are kicking up dust nearby? Heart begins to race. No limbs to speak of. No defense. Only spontaneous combustion. I saw a man on Broadway once with no arms or legs, his wife or sister or something pushing [...]

With the recent rise in, or perhaps attention to, incidents of violence involving soldiers, both deployed and returned to civilian life, courtrooms are experiencing what could result in a dramatic change in legislation. We are all familiar with the insanity plea and how it has been used as both a tool and a defense during trials, but lawyers have begun an effort to throw PTSD into the mix.

It is no secret that the dogs who serve over seas feel the effects of the environment and the duties they perform. Over the past two years, however, veterinarians studying and diagnosing behavioral problems in dogs have noticed startling similarities to the symptoms humans experience when suffering from PTSD.

Last week we discussed how pets overseas are helping soldiers get through their deployment a little easier, but pets can also be greatly beneficial to them throughout their civilian life, especially those suffering from PTSD. Recent studies have shown that having a pet can reduce the symptoms of PTSD in as many as 82% of patients.

Dogs have been making peoples lives better for centuries, but soldiers deployed overseas have found a new kind of solace in their companionship.